130,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Overnight NZ-wide delivery 🚀 | Visit our Auckland bookstore • Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

The Island of the Lost

The spine-chilling gothic ghost story debut novel for fans of Francine Toon and Michelle Paver
By Daisy Stephens
0.0 (0 reviews)
Brief Description
Liv doesn't believe in ghosts. There is a small island off the coast of Italy that was once the site of a plague quarantine station, and later a psychiatric asylum. It now sits deserted, home only to the shadows of local folklore. Liv doesn't believe her... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3999
Pre-order
Releases 22nd December 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "The Island of the Lost" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

Found a better price? Request a price match

A contemporary gothic ghost story about a woman searching for her missing twin sister on an abandoned island off the coast of Italy, previously home to a mental hospital and quarantine station. Perfect for fans of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and PINE by Francine Toon.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Liv doesn't believe in ghosts.

There is a small island off the coast of Italy that was once the site of a plague quarantine station, and later a psychiatric asylum. It now sits deserted, home only to the shadows of local folklore.

Liv doesn't believe her sister is dead.

Granted special permission to visit for a writing assignment, Liv sets sail for the abandoned island, but only she knows the real reason. She is certain it is the last place her twin sister Mia visited before she vanished eighteen months ago.

But Liv believes in whatever is on this island.

Alone with only her colleague Sam, Liv can't deny how unsettling the place truly is. How can a church tower toll when there is no bell? What is the ghostly figure in her peripheral vision? And why can she smell the smoke of burning bodies?

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781399751681

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 10 September 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Hodder & Stoughton

Illustration: N/A

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 24.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 232.0mm

Weight: 360g

Pages: 288

Collections

Coming Soon in Fiction Crime & Thriller Daisy Stephens Fiction General Fiction Horror & Supernatural Pre-order Books Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date

About the Author

Daisy is a journalist, writer and musician from Watford, now living in London. She absolutely adores ghost stories (but always regrets reading them when she's trying to sleep later) and has been writing them for as long as she can remember. She wrote The Island of the Lost after learning about the very real island of Poveglia and its terrifying history.

When she's not writing, she can be found going for long runs, playing the violin in local orchestras, or escaping London in search of some greenery.

More from Horror & Supernatural

View all
  • There Is No Antimemetics Division
    Mind-bending science fiction about antimemes: ideas that attack memory, identity, and the fabric of reality itself. An antimeme is an entity with self-censoring properties. Some are benign, but others, less so... These entities can feed on your most cherished memories, the things that make you you—and you'll never even know anything changed. And they aren't just feeding on us. They're...
    By qntm
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
    The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Etsy Beaucarne follows the journey of an academic striving to achieve professional success by uncovering hidden family history. When a journal written in 1912 by her grandfather, Arthur Beaucarne, a Lutheran pastor, is discovered within a wall during renovations, Etsy sees it as her opportunity to publish and secure tenure. As she delves into the...
    By Stephen Graham Jones
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Shirl's Picks
    Strange Houses
    A sinister hidden room. A dead space between two walls. A sealed cellar. A child's face glimpsed at a window. Every house hides secrets. But some secrets are far darker than others. More than a million readers have discovered the terrible truth behind these strange houses. Now it's your turn.
    By Uketsu
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Nothing Tastes As Good
    New Release
    Nothing Tastes As Good
    Nothing Tastes As Good is a staggeringly honest exploration of how shame, cruelty and the hunger for acceptance can make us feel sub-human. It is visceral and vicious, horrifying, unflinching and unputdownable. - RACHEL HARRISON You'd kill to look this good... Over three hundred pounds, Emmett Truesdale has never fit the Southern California mould of six-pack, suntanned masculinity. He's tried...
    By Luke Dumas
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    Molka
    'Brutal and unflinching...You won't be able to look away as this book cuts you to pieces.' — Kylie Lee Baker, author of Bat Eater 'Combining feminist fury with creeping horror... Fans of Bunny will love this.' — Eve Kellman, author of How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways The new novel by the Sunday Times bestselling author of The...
    By Monika Kim
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The End of the World as We Know It
    Since its initial publication in 1978, The Stand has been considered No. 1 bestselling author and master storyteller Stephen King's seminal masterpiece of apocalyptic fiction, with millions of copies sold and adapted twice for television. Although there are other extraordinary works exploring the unravelling of human society, none have been as influential as this iconic novel - with generations of...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Home Before Dark
    Clever, twisty, and altogether spine-chilling... A deliciously terrifying story. You'll want to read this one after dark, ideally with the wind whistling in the eaves and a window banging somewhere just out of reach. But keep the light switch handy. You just might need it. - Ruth Ware, Book of the Month What was it like? Living in that house....
    By Riley Sager
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Trad Wife
    Your favourite influencer is about to be exposed . . . A deliciously sinister novel from three-time Bram Stoker award-winner Sarah Langan. Every day, millions watch Mia Wright, the "trad wife" queen, on her idyllic 300-acre farm. With her handsome husband, seven perfect children, and a life of from-scratch meals and pastoral bliss, she's an icon of modern femininity. But...
    By Sarah Langan
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Horrorstor
    It's a classic old-fashioned haunted house story - set in a big box Swedish furniture superstore. Designed like a retail catalog, Horrorstor offers a creepy read with mass appeal—perfect for Halloween tables! From the New York Times best-selling author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires comes a hilarious and terrifying haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary...
    By Grady Hendrix
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Frankenstein
    One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World' HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. Frankenstein ‘The rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open…’ Victor Frankenstein’s monster is stitched...
    By Mary Shelley
    Paperback
    $1299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Thinner
    Thinner, by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman, is a chilling tale of one man's descent into a nightmarish curse. Billy Halleck is a successful attorney living in Connecticut with his loving wife and daughter. Overweight but content, Billy's life takes a horrifying turn after a chance encounter with an old Romani woman. Driving through town, Billy accidentally hits her...
    By Stephen King and Richard Bachman
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Shining
    The Shining by Stephen King is a spine-chilling masterpiece that delves into the horrifying and supernatural. The story revolves around the Torrance family: Jack, Wendy, and their five-year-old son, Danny, who possesses an extraordinary psychic ability, referred to by the hotel's cook, Mr Hallorann, as "shining". This gift allows Danny to see the horrific past and foreboding future of the...
    By Stephen King
    Paperback
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

Horror & Supernatural lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all